Transponder Snail
The Transponder Snail (トランスポンダ スネイル, Toransuponda Suneiru) are snails that are usually seen with phones or fax machines attached to their shells. About They have the ability to communicate with each other telepathically through radio waves. The people in Fairy One Piece Tail world take advantage of this ability by attaching buttons and receivers to them. Transponder Snail thus take the place of telephones and other similar machines in the world of Fairy One Piece Tail. They are classified as type "B" creatures being "Small Friendly". A Transponder Snail makes a ring-ring-ring (purupurupuru in Japanese) sound, to inform people on the receiving end that someone is calling, in a similar way to old fashioned telephones. When a person speaks through a Transponder Snail, the Transponder Snail will mouth the person's speech and display the person's emotions. For example, when someone screams, the snail will scream as well. Transponder Snail are usually active when someone answers the phone, but once they are hung up, they go to sleep. Despite acting like machines, they are actually animals. Since being raised by humans gives them access to plenty of food, Transponder Snail do not mind being used and tamed. However, they do not work in extreme cold. They also do not work when the animals themselves are sick. When an S.O.S. signal is sent out, rather than ringing normally as in a regular phone call, the Transponder Snail cries loudly. Types of Transponder Snail The Transponder Snail appear in many, many styles based on where they are and who owns them. For example, Navy Transponder Snail have the navy symbol painted on their face or on their shell. Despite their varied appearances, there appear to be general categories by which Transponder Snail are classified. Transponder Snail are sometimes designed to resemble their user. Personalized Transponder Snail (Gallery) Regular Transponder Snail The most common type of Transponder Snail commonly seen. They are too big to be conveniently carried around, but their signal range is much further than that of a baby. They can also serve as fax machines if the right accessory is attached. They are capable of making long distance calls, and many are large enough to make a worldwide signal. Baby Transponder Snail A Baby Transponder Snail (子トランスポンダ スネイル, Ko Toransuponda Suneiru) is a fairly small and portable Transponder Snail, enough to fit in one's palm. It's good for keeping in contact with fellow comrades in the same area, but incapable of inter-island calls. They can also be used as speakers, in which to broadcast the user's voice throughout the area. Black Transponder Snail The Black Transponder Snail (黒トランスポンダ スネイル, Kuro Toransuponda Suneiru)is a type of Transponder Snail used commonly by the Navy, as listening devices or "wiretaps", to intercept calls between pirates or other miscreants. They are actually a different type of species compared to other types of Transponder Snail. They do not grow as they age and remain a small portable size for the rest of their lives. They enjoy eavesdropping, and dislike communicating with others. Golden Transponder Snail The Golden Transponder Snail (ゴールデントランスポンダ スネイル, Gōruden Toransuponda Suneiru) is a special kind of Transponder Snail which is only held by the Navy Admirals. It is used to summon the Buster Call attack. The Transponder Snail is immobile and its entire body appears to be made out of gold. It is a very rare type of Transponder Snail. After the button on its back is pressed, it sends a message straight to the Silver Transponder Snail, telling the Navy to start the Buster Call. So far in the series, it has only been shown to be used twice: once by Spandine on the Island of Ohara, and again, twenty years later, by Spandam with false permission from Admiral Aokiji. Spandine's use of it was intentional, although Spandam's was not; he used the Golden Transponder Snail by accident because he thought it was a Baby Transponder Snail. Silver Transponder Snail The Silver Transponder Snail (シルバートランスポンダ スネイル, Shirubā Toransuponda Suneiru) is a special type of Transponder Snail, used as an alarm to alert the Navy through the Golden Transponder Snail's Buster Call request. It is depicted as an elderly snail that is bearded and old-looking. It has a shell that appears to be made of solid silver and similar to the design found on the Golden Transponder Snail. The snail is generally calm when nothing happens (sleeping, even). However, when it receives a Buster Call signal from a Golden Transponder Snail, it gives off a loud vibrating sound that alerts any and every Navy nearby. Surveillance Transponder Snail The Surveillance Transponder Snail (監視トランスポンダ スネイル, Kanshi Toransuponda Suneiru) is a type of Transponder Snail that acts as a video camera. They come in two sizes. The small Surveillance Transponder Snail are mounted in specific locations around a building with an alarm connected to the shell. They are all connected to a larger Surveillance Transponder Snail that is able to pick up the signals. These large ones are connected to a machine which produces video feeds to a set of monitors. Visual Transponder Snail The Visual Transponder Snail (映像トランスポンダ スネイル, Eizō Toransuponda Suneiru) is similar to the Surveillance Transponder Snail, and it broadcasts what the Transponder Snail sees to a bigger video screen. The smaller Transponder Snail (which seems to be larger than the Surveillance variation) are used as the cameras, while the larger ones are linked to the screens to receive the signals. These visual versions seem to be able to broadcast their frequencies between two relatively close islands. Self-Propelled Visual Transponder Snail The Self-Propelled Visual Transponder Snail (自走式映像転送トランスポンダ スネイル, Jisō-shiki Eizō Tensō Toransuponda Suneiru) are able to move and look around. They also appear to be close to the same size as the larger variant of the Visual Transponder Snail and have attachments that allow them to project what they can see to a monitor. Shiki has this variant of the Visual Transponder Snail. White Transponder Snail The White Transponder Snail (白トランスポンダ スネイル, Shiro Toransuponda Suneiru) can be attached to other Transponder Snail. They out psychic waves that prevent calls from being intercepted; in a way, they are the opposite of the black Transponder Snail. They are rare and one was first seen used by Monkey D. Dragon to communicate with Emporio Ivankov. Trivia *In one of Oda's SBS, a fan asked Oda to apologize to a Transponder Snail whose receiver was destroyed by Sanji. Oda responded to the fan's question by explaining that Transponder Snail are actually born naturally without the receivers and buttons commonly seen on them. The people of the Fairy One Piece Tail world attach these devices to the snails in order to use the snails' ability to communicate with one another. Breaking these devices attached in truth does not harm the animal at all. *Skypiea is the only location seen where they seem completely absent or unavailable for use. However, Dials, the remains of particular shellfish that live in the White-White Sea, are used constantly by the natives. *Regular Transponder Snail appear in both Fairy One Piece Tail: Unlimited Adventure and Fairy One Piece Tail: Unlimited Cruise as catchable bugs, used for creating items. *Another reference to the fact Transponder Snail are living creatures can be seen in the Navyford Arc, when Buggy and the rest of his crew were frozen by Aokiji and unfrozen by Akainu's attack, however, the camera Den Den Mushi had yet to be unfrozen, and when it sank in the seawater boiled by Akainu, it became dehydrated as a normal snail would due to the salt content of the ocean. After that, it got extremely scared by Buggy's crew and hid in his shell. It then started crying from joy after Buggy defended the snail, saying it had worked too hard and deserved a break. References External Links * Snail - Wikipedia article on snails in general * Telephone - Wikipedia article on the telephone * Pasilalinic-sympathetic compass - Wikipedia article on a concept similar to Den Den Mushi Site Navigation Category:Animals Category:Technologies